| Div 2 | 5th |
| FA Cup | R2 |
| Attendance | 7,300 |
| Chairman | W Neasham |
| Secretary | F Watt |
| Trainer | J Pears |
| Captain | B Foyers |
| Top Scorer | W Wardrope (22) |
After the disastrous end to the previous season the playing staff was completely revamped with only four players (Graham, Mcdermidd, Thompson and Ward) surviving the cull. The directors spent their limited funds wisely as they recruited men such as Wardrope, Foyers, Aitken and Stott.
However the most important new arrival was that of new secretary Frank G Watt. Known as "The Guv'nor" his impetus would transform United from a struggling Second Division side into the best club in the land.
United were forced - much to their chagrin - to play through five FA Cup qualifying rounds before they reached the First Round proper. Once again they were beaten at the Second Round stage by a First Division club; this time it was Bury.
Better form on the itch was matched by better crowds off it. There was a 50% increase in the average and a new record crowd of 14,250 watched the cup match against The Shakers.
Kit images copyright Historical Football Kits and reproduced by kind permission
| 7/9 | H | Loughborough | W | 3-0 | ||
| 14/9 | A | Liverpool | L | 1-5 | 8 | |
| 21/9 | H | Notts C | W | 5-1 | 7 | |
| 28/9 | A | Rotherham | D | 1-1 | 7 | |
| 5/10 | H | Liverpool | W | 1-0 | 7 | |
| 19/10 | A | N Heath | L | 1-2 | 8 | |
| 26/10 | H | N Heath | W | 2-1 | 6 | |
| 9/11 | A | Darwen | D | 4-4 | 6 | |
| 16/11 | H | Darwen | W | 7-2 | 6 | |
| 7/12 | A | Burton S | L | 1-3 | 8 | |
| 21/12 | H | Rotherham | W | 6-1 | 8 | |
| 25/12 | H | Crewe | W | 6-0 | 6 | |
| 26/12 | A | Grimsby | L | 1-2 | 8 | |
| 28/12 | A | Lincoln | L | 0-4 | 8 | |
| 1/1 | H | Leicester F | W | 1-0 | 7 | |
| 2/1 | H | Lincoln | W | 5-0 | 5 | |
| 4/1 | A | Man City | L | 2-5 | 7 | |
| 11/1 | H | Grimsby | L | 1-5 | 7 | |
| 18/1 | H | W Arsenal | W | 3-1 | 6 | |
| 25/1 | A | Crewe | L | 0-3 | 6 | |
| 8/2 | H | Burton W | W | 4-0 | 6 | |
| 22/2 | A | Burton W | W | 3-0 | 4 | |
| 7/3 | A | Loughborough | L | 0-1 | 6 | |
| 14/3 | A | Notts C | W | 1-0 | 5 | |
| 21/3 | H | Man City | W | 4-1 | 5 | |
| 3/4 | H | Burslem PV | W | 4-2 | 5 | |
| 4/4 | H | Burton S | W | 5-0 | 5 | |
| 6/4 | A | W Arsenal | L | 1-2 | 5 | |
| 7/4 | A | Leicester F | L | 0-2 | 5 | |
| 20/4 | A | Burslem PV | L | 0-2 | 5 |
| W | D | L | F | A | Pts | ||
| 01 | Liverpool | 22 | 2 | 6 | 106 | 32 | 46[a] |
| 02 | Man City | 21 | 4 | 5 | 63 | 38 | 46 |
| 03 | Grimsby | 20 | 2 | 8 | 82 | 38 | 42 |
| 04 | Burton W | 19 | 4 | 7 | 69 | 40 | 42 |
| 05 | Newcastle | 16 | 2 | 12 | 73 | 50 | 34 |
| 06 | N Heath | 15 | 3 | 12 | 66 | 57 | 33 |
| 07 | W Arsenal | 14 | 4 | 12 | 58 | 42 | 32 |
| 08 | Leicester F | 14 | 4 | 12 | 57 | 44 | 32 |
| 09 | Darwen | 12 | 6 | 12 | 72 | 67 | 30 |
| 10 | Notts Cty | 12 | 2 | 16 | 57 | 54 | 26 |
| 11 | Burton S | 10 | 4 | 16 | 39 | 69 | 24 |
| 12 | Loughborough | 9 | 5 | 16 | 40 | 66 | 23 |
| 13 | Lincoln | 9 | 4 | 17 | 53 | 75 | 22 |
| 14 | Burslem PV | 7 | 4 | 19 | 43 | 78 | 18 |
| 15 | Rotherham | 7 | 3 | 20 | 34 | 97 | 17 |
| 16 | Crewe | 5 | 3 | 22 | 30 | 95 | 13 |
| QR1 | 12/10 | A | West Hartlepool | W | 8-0 | ||
| QR2 | 2/11 | H | Middlesbrough | W | 4-1 | ||
| QR3 | 23/11 | H | Rendel | W | 5-0 | ||
| QR4 | 14/12 | H | Tow Law | W | 4-0 | ||
| R1 | 1/2 | A | Chesterfield | W | 4-0 | ||
| R2 | 15/2 | H | Bury | L | 1-3 |
| Player | A | G |
|---|---|---|
| Adams, G | 1 | 13 |
| Aitken, A | 32 | |
| Carr, J | 1 | |
| Collins, J | 30 | 10 |
| Foyers, R | 30 | |
| Graham, W | 36 | 3 |
| Henderson, J | 35 | |
| Lennox, M | 26 | 13 |
| Logan, J | 9 | 8 |
| McDermidd, R | 36 | 1 |
| McDonald, J | 6 | 2 |
| McKay, W | 21 | 7 |
| Miller, W | 31 | 1 |
| Quinn, C | 1 | |
| Reid, O | 2 | |
| Stott, J | 36 | 6 |
| Thompson, W | 23 | 10 |
| Warburton, J | 3 | |
| Ward, W | 1 | |
| Wardrope, W | 36 | 22 |
| own goals | 4 | |
| unknown | 1 |
01: (2) Henderson
02: (1) McDermidd
03: (3) Foyers
04: (5) Miller
05: (3) Graham
06: (2) Stott
07: (4) Lennox
08: (3) McKay > Collins
09: (5) Logan > Thompson or McKay
10: (4) Aitken
11: (3) Wardrope
| Name | Date | From | Fee |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aitken A | 06/1895 | Ayr Parkhouse | |
| Mckay W | 06/1895 | Rangers | |
| Miller W | 06/1895 | Kilmarnock | |
| Lockey J | 07/1895 | Willington Ath | |
| Stott J | 08/1895 | Grimsby | £15 |
| Wardrope W | 08/1895 | Linthouse | |
| Quinn C | 08/1895 | ||
| Logan J | 09/1895 | Dundee | |
| Lennox M | 10/1895 | Glasgow Perthshire | |
| Mcdonald J | 10/1895 | Glasgow Ashfield | |
| Reid | 12/1895 | Rotheram United | |
| Haynes Or Hynd | /1895 | Local Non-L | |
| Adams G | 02/1896 | Kilmarnock | |
| Smelie R | 05/1896 | Nottm F | |
| Watts C | 05/1896 | Burton Wanderers | |
| White J | 05/1896 | Clyde |
| Name | Date | To | Fee |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cambell T | --/1895 | Released | |
| Crate T | --/1895 | Hebburn Argyle | |
| Donaldson | --/1895 | ?? | |
| Haynes Or Hynd | --/1895 | ?? | |
| Jeffrey H | --/1895 | Ret. Inj. | |
| Lowery W | --/1895 | Local Non-L | |
| Ryder J | --/1895 | Hebburn Argyle | |
| Warburton J | --/1895 | Hebburn Argyle | |
| Willis R | --/1895 | Shankhouse | |
| Rendell T | cs/1895 | Shankhouse | |
| Wallace J | cs/1895 | ||
| O'Brien P | 06/1895 | Hebburn Argyle | |
| Dickson C | 07/1895 | Loughborough | |
| Creilly R | 08/1895 | Hebburn Argyle | |
| Mcnee J | 10/1895 | Gateshead Ner | |
| Mckane J | 11/1895 | ||
| Milne W | 11/1895 | Sunderland | |
| Logan J | 01/1896 | £10 | |
| Henderson J | 05/1896 |
At the AGM in July Mr Golding submitted the annual report where the club reported a profit of just over £100. He talked of "bright prospects" and stated that at the end of the previous season the club had sent out a circular "to those who were desirious of seeing a first-class team".
As a result a meeting scheme was formulated and £220 had been subscribed as share capital through the efforts of the special committee which was formed at that meeting.
All the directors were re-elected except Mr Young who was replaced by Mr Black.
In December Dundee secretary Frank Watt joined United in the same capacity. Watt had an excellent reputation and had only joined Dundee a few months earlier.
The move only came about after much pressure from the Newcastle officials.
In October United were fined 10 shillings for failing to send in results within the prescribed four days and fined 1 guinea for non-payment of subscriptions.
The average home League attendance showed a massive percentage increase of about 40%. And the record attendance figure was also broken when 14,250 turned up for the 2nd Round FA Cup Tie against Bury.
For the Bury game the entrances were opened two hours before kick off and the stands and the cinder banks soon filled. The ground was full with thirty minutes still to go and venturesome fans mounted railings around the ground.
When United played Grimsby at home the weather was most favourable and there were many fans without wraps of any sort. They crowded the embankments around the barriers and some perched themselves on top of the palisading on the Park Side.
The crowd was becoming ever more vocal. When Newcastle entered the arena for a big game there was often a lusty and prolonged cheer and goals often led to a perfect frenzy of delight. Repeated cries of "Play Up United!" could be heard.
Loud and persistent groans would meet goals by the opposition and when Grimsby adopted tactics of continually kicking the ball out to waste time it called forth a good deal of remark from the home crowd.
The referee was often a target and when the match official tried to start the Bury game early numerous watches were forked out and the referee was loudly reminded that the eventful minute had not arrived.
And unpopular decisions resulted in "unsportsmanlike" carping which occasionally beat the reporter's comprehension.
In December United winger Charles Quinn was sentenced to three months imprisonment/hard labour after he was found guilty of assault.
He and another man had persuaded a woman named Mary Taylor to join them in a pub. She didn't want a drink and left but Quinn followed her out. An altercation followed and Quinn struck her. She tried to fend him off with her umbrella but he grabbed it off her and knocked her to the ground.
As a result of the incident her nose was broken in several places. Not surprisigly he would never play for the club again.
Kit images copyright Historical Football Kits and reproduced by kind permission